Old English 'werewulf' — 'wer' (man) + 'wulf' (wolf), where 'were-' is the last trace of the old word for 'man.'
A mythological human being who transforms into a wolf, especially during a full moon; a lycanthrope.
From Old English 'werewulf,' a compound of 'wer' (man, adult male human) and 'wulf' (wolf). The element 'wer' derives from Proto-Germanic *weraz, from PIE *wiHrós (man, male person), the same root that produced Latin 'vir' (man, as in 'virile,' 'virtue'), Old Irish 'fer,' and Sanskrit 'vīra' (hero, man). The 'wolf' element descends from PIE *wĺ̥kʷos (wolf). The compound literally means 'man-wolf' — a human who transforms